NTSB concludes fact-finding in Md. helicopter-plane crash

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded the fact-finding portion of its investigation into a midair collision between a helicopter and a small plane near Frederick Municipal Airport in 2014.

The Frederick News-Post (http://tinyurl.com/htrs3d8 ) reports that the NTSB posted a factual report Saturday that does not include analysis or a determination of what caused the crash.

Investigators found that an air-traffic controller did not hear the pilot check in to say he was 3 miles from the airport, one minute before the crash on Oct. 23, 2014. When the controller cleared the pilot to land, she mentioned there were three helicopters below him, but he said he only saw two. The crash occurred seconds later.

All three people on board the helicopter died. Both people on the airplane survived.